'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' tells the rise of Corionlaus Snow.
When Effie Trinket said, "May the odds be ever in your favor," she meant forever -- Lionsgate announced that a Hunger Games prequel film is officially in the works
It was previously revealed that author Suzanne Collins was penning a new novel set in the world of Panem, 64 years before Katniss Everdeen would volunteer herself as tribute. Since then, we've learned that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, as it is titled, will center on an 18-year-old Corionlaus Snow -- who fans will better know as the tyrannical President Snow.
Flipping the script on the first trilogy, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes sees Coriolanus chosen as a mentor for the Tenth Hunger Games, only to be assigned to a female tribute from District 12. Seemingly, we will see his transformation into the villain of the original series. (Revenge of the Sith vibes.)
Both Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' release -- out May 19 -- and Lionsgate's confirmation that it will be adapted into "a major motion picture" come five years after the last Hunger Games film, Mockingjay - Part 2. In that film, Snow was portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Francis Lawrence, who helmed Catching Fire and both Mockingjay installments, has been tapped to direct, with Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) writing the script from a treatment by Collins herself.
"Suzanne's new book has been worth the wait. It offers everything fans could hope for and expect from The Hunger Games while also breaking new ground and introducing an entirely new canvas of characters," Joe Drake, Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is creatively thrilling and takes this world to complex new dimensions that open up amazing cinematic possibilities. We’re thrilled to reunite this filmmaking team with this very unique franchise, and we can’t wait to begin production.”
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